Sasuke mean-mugs me on the field, but it doesn't stop him from (begrudgingly) passing me the ball... However, he does pause mid-game to attack Kiba. He punches him hard, causing him to fall backwards. He then sits on his chest and starts wailing on him like there's no tomorrow. "Ahh!" Kiba shouts, grabbing Sasuke's wrists to prevent him from landing any other hits. "Fuck, someone take him away!"

I, along with everyone else on our team and the opposite team, all stand still in disbelief. I shake it off a moment later and grab Sasuke under the armpits, dragging him off of Kiba. He grits his teeth, refusing to look at me and the coach gives them both a time out.

And all in front of his daddy.

Sasuke and Kiba slump onto the benches, cross armed and pissed off.

  ||XxXx||  

Sasuke and Kiba are allowed back on the field soon enough and naturally, we win. We're the best. Blah, blah. In the locker room, all the guys are talking about the game - lewdly, of course. "We fuckin' raped Mizu," I hear one guy exclaim. I shake my head at that. How crude.

After showering, I throw my sweatpants and t-shirt back on and meet my parents back outside. "You were wonderful," Mom says, pinching my cheek.

"Thanks," I laugh.

"Where's our son?" Fugaku asks sternly.

"He should be out in any minute," I say.

"It's so wonderful you and Sasuke are getting along now," Mikoto smiles. "It's about time you both set aside your differences. I knew it would happen someday... Too bad that's clearly not the case for the Inuzuka boy."

"I know, right?" I say. My mom is currently wearing an extremely forced grin and my father just looks sheepish. I know the three of us are all thinking about... the thing they had the misfortune of seeing.

Just as I said, Sasuke saunters out of the locker room after a minute. He greets everyone with an overly polite smile and our parents continue chatting for a few minutes until finally bidding one another a goodnight.

"I've got my jeep, so I'll be driving home," I tell my parents.

"Okay," Mom says.

"We'll see you in a bit," Dad adds.

I wave them off and then look at Sasuke. "I'll drive you home," I say, nodding for him to follow me.

He looks to Mikoto, who smiles. She looks so fucking happy that we're getting along. I wonder if she'd be just as happy if she knew exactly how well we're getting along... probably not. She wants grandchildren more than anything. Itachi won't be giving her any in the foreseeable future and it's only a matter of time before Sasuke comes out of the closet. I hope she won't be disappointed and if she is, I hope to fucking hell she doesn't show it. I doubt she would. She's too kind for that. Fugaku... I wonder how he'll react. I don't really know about their political stance when it comes to being gay. I know my parents don't give a shit about that kind of thing. They just want me to be happy. I wonder if Sasuke's parents feel the same way. I hope they do.

Sasuke silently follows me out of the school, into the parking lot, and to my parked jeep. "So," I start once we're settled inside, "did your client drop you off here?"

"Client?" he repeats in a questioning tone. "I don't have clients. You make me sound like a little hooker or something."

"To be honest," I admit, "I probably wouldn't feel any different if you were a sex worker."

"How flattering," he rolls his eyes.

I just smile, turning the ignition on and leaving the parking lot. "I like you a lot," I tell him. "More than anyone I've ever been into before."

"I don't get it," Sasuke murmurs. "I'm an asshole. I'm a whore. I cry too much. I need constant reassurance."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, you're an asshole, but you're not so bad. And don't say you're a whore like it's a bad thing, dude. You like to fuck. So what, right? And yeah, you cry a lot... but again, so what? Hell, I cry a lot, too. It feels good. Bottling things up is the worst thing a person can do, so it's better to just let it all out when you feel it. And as for the reassurance thing... I'm like that too at times. It's okay."

He lets out a short laugh. "You're something else, Uzumaki."

"Right back at you, Uchiha," I reply without missing a beat. "So, gonna get scolded when you get home?"

"Probably," he murmurs, "but they're used to the fighting. It just... used to be me and you."

"I suppose so," I say.

I drop Sasuke home and we kiss briefly before he leaves. I watch him until he's inside, then I pull out of his driveway and continue down the street to my own house.

"I'm hereee!" I shout upon arrival.

"Welcome home!" my parents shout back in unison.

I kick off my sneakers and follow their voices into the kitchen. "I think I'm going to do a bit of homework and head to sleep early," I tell them.

"Okay," Mom says, reaching forward and lightly pinching my cheek. "Sleep well."

I retreat to my room after bidding them a goodnight and getting ready for bed. I don't know why, but I'm really fucking tired lately. I sit at my desk and do a bit of homework - albeit lazily - before going to sleep.

    ||XxXx||    

Come morning, I wake up with the sun shining through my window. I must've forgotten to close the curtains before falling asleep. I get out of bed, squinting as I shut them. "There," I murmur to myself, lying back down. I still feel too lazy to do anything just yet.

I close my eyes, just thinking about random things. I'm not sure how long I'm just lying here like this, but my mom eventually walks in.

"Wakey, wakey," she sings, opening the curtains I just closed.

I let out a groan, but don't budge an inch. She approaches my bedside and rips the blankets away, forcing me to greet the cool air. "Mom... no," I whine.

"Naruto, yes," she retort. "Up, up, up."

She leaves after that and I force myself to get out of bed. "Hmph," I sulk on my way to the bathroom. I take a shower to wake myself up, then I get dressed – sweatpants and a t-shirt. Nothing fancy on the weekends... or ever. My style is pretty lacking, but I don't care. I'm definitely no Uchiha, but speaking of... I shoot Sasuke a text, asking him if he wants to do anything. Moments later, he responds and invites me over.

I run downstairs and eat a quick breakfast before telling my mom I'm going to Sasuke's. She nods and in a high-pitched, timid voice she asks, "Are you... are you and him... still... special friends?"

"Yeah," I admit.

"Oh," she forces a smile. "Okay. Play safe."

Play... safe...?

After an awkward silence, I say, "Yeah..." and promptly leave the kitchen. I slip my sneakers on and make my way down the street.

When I reach his doorstep, I ring the doorbell once and he answers a moment later, allowing me inside. "What's going on?" I ask him.

"Nothing," he says carelessly, shutting the door behind me.

"What do you wanna do?"

He shrugs.

"Are your parents home?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Just Itachi. He's upstairs, though. Dad is at work and I think my mom is shopping..."

"Oh," I say. "Has he been okay?"

"Yeah."

I follow Sasuke into the living room, where he proceeds to unbutton my jeans. "Dude," I start. "What are you doing?"

"Shut up, Naruto," he says with an irritated sigh. "What do you think I'm doing?"

"Do you like to make me look stupid?" I ask in a murmur. Nonetheless, my boner comes to life.

He smirks. "You do that all on your own." He reaches a hand into my pants and wraps nimble fingers around my dick. "Ah..." he adds. "See? Hard already. I knew this was why wanted to see me."

"That isn't why," I say, but even if I argue with him I know I won't win.

He doesn't respond. Instead, he gets on his knees and pulls my pants down mid-thigh. I feel his mouth and it feels nice. He's good at this. He's probably done it enough times.

    ||XxXx||    

We end up fucking on his living room sofa. I'm hovering over him and his nails are digging into the skin on my shoulders, but I don't say anything. I watch his face like I always do. He's really fucking pretty. For some reason, I feel like I can appreciate it more now because I appreciate him more now – all the things about him. It's not just the way he looks. It's all the things.

I come first and then I get him off. He stares at me the entire time with a half-lidded, wanton expression. I want to be the only person he looks at like this, but I know it's a stupid thing to wish. Sasuke will never belong to just one person.

Afterwards, we both get dressed and Sasuke turns to me. "What now?"

"Whatever you want," I tell him.

"Of course," he says, sitting on the arm of the sofa. "It's always about what I want. Me, me, me."

"You're being cynical," I assume, though sometimes I can't tell.

He simply shrugs in response and suddenly Itachi enters the room looking like he's on a mission. Sasuke looks stricken. "Naruto, get out," he whispers numbly, standing up and taking a step back.

"What? Why?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Just do it," he demands, sounding shrill. But it's too late and Sasuke is on the floor with Itachi hovering over him. His hands are wrapped around his little brother's throat, digging dangerously. "Nng..." Sasuke whimpers.

"Wait, stop!" I shout.

"I am..." Itachi murmurs. "I am stopping... I'm stopping it."

I can feel my heartbeat throughout every inch of my body. I move towards him, wishing I could gather up the strength to be less hesitant. Sasuke's life is on the line! I should be jumping into action, but I understand that, with once false move on my behalf, Sasuke could be dead.

"Don't come any closer," Itachi warns me.

"Look," I try to reason, but the attempt is weak, "you're killing him..."

"I know," is all he says.

"Please, don't..." my voice cracks. Sasuke's fingers are wrapped around Itachi's, trying to weaken his grip, but to no avail. A moment later, his hands fall and his eyes close.

Deep in the pit of my stomach, I feel something bubbling. I feel that distantly familiar anger, the kind that can't be controlled once it's out. I try to swallow it, but it's too hard. I see red.

I grab the first item I see – a vase – and break it over Itachi's head. He lets go of Sasuke and falls onto his side. Now I'm standing above two unconscious Uchihas. At least they're both pacified now. I lean over Sasuke and press my ear to his chest. He's breathing. He'll be fine. He'll be fine.

I let out a sigh and I call 911.

Sasuke's eyes flutter open before the ambulance arrives. I help him sit up and he immediately touches his throat, letting out a sigh. "The marks were gone," he says. "Now I'll have new ones..."

"I'm sorry... I should've done something," I murmur.

He shrugs. "You should have just left."

"Then you'd be dead," I say.

"Good," Sasuke mutters angrily. "Then I won't have to keep waiting for it to happen."

"Don't say shit like that..." I frown.

Before he can answer, the ambulance arrives. They ask questions and put Itachi on a stretcher. They give Sasuke a quick check up too, but deem him fine. We ride in the ambulance and Sasuke looks less than thrilled about it. "I better call everyone," he says with a sigh. "Mom, dad, Kisame... they'll all want to know."

"I can make the calls," I offer. "Once we get there, you can wait in the waiting room and I'll go outside and make the calls."

Sasuke nods lightly. "Okay."

    ||XxXx||    

Turns out, I hit Itachi pretty bad and he got a shard of glass stuck in his forehead. Deep enough to need stitches, but no worse than that. He's out cold, but he'll be waking up soon. Fuck, I could've killed him...

Just as I promised Sasuke, I called everyone. Fugaku is at work. He said he'd try to leave as soon as he can, but I doubt he'll be able to. Just like my dad, he's a busy guy. Mikoto and Kisame arrive at the same time. She looks panicked. Kisame looks cold and uncaring as ever.

"What happened?" Mikoto demands once she enters the waiting room.

"Itachi tried to kill me again," Sasuke murmurs tersely. "Why did you bring him home? This is going to keep happening! Do you want me to fucking die? You're a nurse! You should know this isn't going to work, Mom!"

She lets out a sob, but doesn't cry. She just looks miserable and distressed. Poor Mikoto. It's her day off and she's back at the hospital. "I'm sorry, you're right," she whispers. "I thought... I thought things would be different."

"Naruto knocked him out and saved me," he adds offhandedly.

Mikoto looks surprised. "Really?" she asks softly, glancing at me.

"Yeah, sorry..." I murmur.

"Don't be sorry, idiot," Sasuke says. "It's just like you said, if you weren't there, I'd be dead. Right?"

"Yeah," I relent.

Mikoto wraps her arms around me and whispers, "Thank you."

I hesitantly wrap my arms around her. I don't say anything. I don't really know what to say. Once we part, she hugs Sasuke for a long time. "My poor baby," she murmurs, squeezing him tight.

"I'm fine, Mom," he promises her, though it's hardly the truth. "Sorry for yelling."

She lets out a sigh, going to find a doctor. Me and Sasuke stand in silence with Kisame until she returns. She looks relieved, so it must be good news. "Itachi is awake," she says.

"I don't want to see him," Sasuke admits. "I'm going home."

Mikoto frowns, and then glances at me. For some reason, I can read her mind. "Yeah," I say, "I'll walk him back."

Sasuke rolls his eyes at the both of us and the two of us leave together.

"You need to remove some of the shit from your life," I tell him. "You have too much of it."

"Yeah?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say.

He shrugs. "Will you help me?"

"Of course," I promise. "I said I would, didn't I? Just say the word."

He shrugs again.

"When do you wanna do it, then?" I urge. I want him to do it as soon as possible, but I also think it has to be something he does on his own terms. I can't force it. So, I add, "When will you be ready?"

"I don't know," he admits. "Tomorrow...?"

"It's up to you," I tell him.

He lets out an irritated sigh. "Fine, we can try tomorrow."